Safety belt buckle with electrical connector

ABSTRACT

An automobile safety belt having male and female coupling members for connecting the belt together and electrical connection means carried by the coupling members and adapted to be connected together when the coupling members are connected. The electrical connection means are electrically connected to the automobile starter motor so that the safety belt must be closed before the starter motor can be operated.

United States Patent Robert 0. Hampton 117 E. St, SE Apt 201,Washington, D.C. 20003 Mar. 14, 1969 Mar. 16, 1971 Inventor App], No.Filed Patented SAFETY BELT BUCKLE WITH ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR 2 Claims, 5Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 180/82, 280/150, 339/147 Int. Cl B60k 27/08 Field of Search339/147;

ISO/82.8; 280/I 50 (SB); 244/122; 297/385; 340/52, 278; 24/(Inquired)[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,880,789 4/1959 Leibinger180/82.8 3,438,455 4/1969 Redmond 340/278X Primary Examiner Ernest R.Purser ABSTRACT: An automobile safety belt having male and femalecoupling members for connecting the belt together and electricalconnection means carried by the coupling members and adapted to beconnected together when the coupling members are connected. Theelectrical connection means are electrically connected to the automobilestarter motor so that the safety belt must be closed before the startermotor can be operated.

SAFETY BELT BUCKLE WITH ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR This invention relates to abuckle which provides an electrical connection in a circuit as well asconnecting the ends of a safety belt. The invention is particularlyuseful in insuring that safety belts are fastened before the startercircuit of motor vehicles normally recommended to be fitted with safetybelts can be energized.

An object of the invention is to provide a buckle which brings togethera male and female plug'connector wired into the starting circuit of amotor vehicle containing safety belts, when said safety belts arefastened, and thereby insuring the belt ends are connected before saidcircuit can be energized.

Another object of the invention is to provide a buckle which facilitatesdisassembly of electrical connector from the buckle for maintenance andin no way impairing the strength or function of the coupling members ofsaid buckle as a safety belt connector.

A further object of the invention is to provide an electrical buckleconnector which contains keys and slotted guides on the coupling membersto insure a firm electrical connection when thebuckle is fastened.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an electrical buckleconnector wherein the electrical flow is totally insulated from thewearer of the belt when the buckle is fastened, thus protecting thewearer from short circuits and possible physical harm.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide an electricalbuckle connector which may be used with warning systems on'airplanes andthe like to indicate that safety belts are not fastened.

The accomplishment of these objects are hereinafter described in detailwith the preferred form of construction illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical safety belt buckle showing theuncoupled sliding member and receptacle;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the buckle in FIG. 1 showing thereceptacle without the topside and the embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of FIG. 2 with the parts disassembled;

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of FIG. 2 showing the electricalconnectors mated; and

FIG. 5 is a partial view of the receptacle of the buckle showing furtherdetails of the present invention.

Referring first to FIG. I, a typical safety belt buckle showingseparated coupling members 1 and 10, is illustrated. It is well knownthat the sliding member 1 is joined to the receptacle formed by cover 2mounted atop by manually inserting said member into the receptacle. Thesafety belt straps are, respectively 3 and 4. v

In FIG. 2 the buckle in FIG. 1 has cover 2 removed. 0n the underside of1 is secured a male electrical connector 5 which will mate throughcontact 8 with the female electrical connector 13 which is secured tothe topside of 10. Along with the key 21 (a part of 1) a guide 9 on themale electrical connector 5 and a guide 11 on the female connector 13insure proper mating and a firm electrical contact.

The electrical connector 5 is secured to 1 through screws 6 be crimped,to the contact 8 on end and terminating in an electrical circuitnormally used for vehicle starting or a warning indicator on the other.The connectors 5 and I3 must be connected before the starter motor ofthe vehicle can be energized.

The female connector 13 is secured to 10 through screws 12 and 20; and14 also is a wire conductor preferably soldered to the internal contactof said gonnector and it too terminates in the aforesaid electricalcircuit.

The male and female members, respectively 5 and 13, are showndisassembled from the buckle members 1 and 10 in FIG. 3 which is a sideview of FIG. 2 with 10 partially cutaway. The countersunk screws 6 and12 are shown in a position to secure the electrical connector to thebuckle.

When the safety belt buckle rs fastened, l is manually inserted into thereceptacle formed by 2 and it); and connectors 5 and 13 mate asillustrated in FIG. 4 which is the same as FIG. 3 with the connectorsassembled. Lip l5 insures a firm mechanical connection between themembers l and I0 and provides sufficient clearance for the type ofelectrical connectors used.

Slotted guides are provided on the receptacle part 10 to insure that themale and female members make firm electrical contact whenever the safetybelt buckle is fastened. These guides are illustrated in FIG. 5. Inorder to insert sliding plate 1 into 10, the projection 21 (see FIGS. 2and 3) must be aligned with the slot 18. After traveling a shortdistance the edges of 1 align with slots 16 and 17. Together, theseguides insure that the male connector properly mates with the femaleconnector. On releasing the sliding member I (by lifting 2 in FIG. I)the inside flaring of slot 18 insures that plate I is not impeded.

The above description necessarily concentrates on a particularembodiment of the invention, however, the protection requested shouldnot be restricted to this preferred construction, but instead the scopeshould extend to other embodiments in the spirit of the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. In an automobile having a starter motor, at least one seat having asafety belt, a conventional safety belt buckle with male and femalecoupling members connecting said belt together, said female couplingmember having a cavity for the reception of a generally flat rigidtongue on said male coupling member, means locking said coupling memberin assembled relation and means on said female coupling member forselectively releasing said coupling members, the improvement comprisingguide means disposed in the cavity in said female coupling member forslidably receiving and guiding opposite 1 sides of the tongue of themale coupling member to guide said and 19; and 7 is a wire conductorpreferably soldered, but can male member into predetermined lockingposition relative to said female member, a male electrical connectormounted on one of said coupling members and a female electricalconnector mounted on the other of said coupling members, said electricalconnectors being in alignment with each other, and said male and femaleelectrical connectors being connected to the electrical circuit of theautomobile starter motor so that the belt coupling members and saidelectrical connectors must be connected before the starter motor can beoperated.

I 2. The structure of claim 1 including means on said electricalconnectors for guiding the same into contacting engagement.

1. In an automobile having a starter motor, at least one seat having asafety belt, a conventional safety belt buckle with male and femalecoupling members connecting said belt together, said female couplingmember having a cavity for the reception of a generally flat rigidtongue on said male coupling member, means locking said coupling memberin assembled relation and means on said female coupling member forselectively releasing said coupling members, the improvement comprisingguide means disposed in the cavity in said female coupling member forslidably receiving and guiding opposite sides of the tongue of the malecoupling member to guide said male member into predetermined lockingposition relative to said female member, a male electrical connectormounted on one of said coupling members and a female electricalconnector mounted on the other of said coupling members, said electricalconnectors being in alignment with each other, and said male and femaleelectrical connectors being connected to the electrical circuit of theautomobile starter motor so that the belt coupling members and saidelectrical connectors must be connected before the starter motor can beoperated.
 2. The structure of claim 1 including means on said electricalconnectors for guiding the same into contacting engagement.